How do I keep a cat off of furniture

I recently purchased dark purple dining room chairs, and my cat has decided to sleep on them. I used to allow him to get on furniture before I was married. I have since been able to break him of the habit to some degree. He still gets under the covers fo the bed when we are not home and he now jumps on the chairs when we are not home. He used to jump on our leather couch, but has since stopped that behavior without much correction. He does jump on the chairs when we are home, including while we are sleeping at night. So it seems that he knows this is wrong. I have started spraying him with water and yelling no when he goes near the dining room table and chairs. SO far this is not making a difference. My husband is pretty fed up with this, especially since he is not an animal person. Any suggestions? Thank you.

Provide the cat with two or three different comfy places to sleep, different types for different moods. Try leaving wire clothes hangers on the chairs ( don't forget to remove them before YOU sit down!), the noise and obvious "uncomfiness" should persaude the cat to find somewhere else to sleep. Once broken of the habit you can remove the hangers. ( You'll need at least two hangers per chair.)

In short-you can't! Especially since you used to let him on the furniture! All due respect to Carrie, but my experience has been that cats are way too smart to fall for a trick like that - once the hangers are removed again the cat will be there again. But, of course, I won't discourage you from trying - anything MIGHT work. He probably stays off the couch simply because he doesn't like it. If more people would realize that animals are just like us (we ARE animals) - they don't like being in the rain, cold, heat, or forced to sleep on hard floors when there's comfy furniture around, then there would be fewer animals being dumped in shelters and on streets because "he didn't match the furniture anymore" (sadly, on of the main reasons animals are abandoned or surrendered). He obviously likes the chairs, and you will probably not be able to keep him off them completely, even if you do find a method that discourages him. Even buying him a bed may not help, because most cats have several "favorite" places to sleep (although buying him a nice comfy bed would help, if he takes to it). I hope I'm not sounding too preachy, but your letter scares me a little because I've seen way too many abandoned cats and dogs whose former owners sounded just like you. If you value your furniture so much that your cat is not even allowed on ANY of it, you might shouldn't have gotten a pet. But since the horse is already out of the barn, maybe you could look into pet fur squeegees in the pet stores and catalogues. They are more effective than vacuuming, and they don't harm the furniture. The pet bed I previously mentioned might help, as well as Carrrie's suggestions. I really don't mean to sound offensive, but I do feel sorry for your poor kitty who's not even allowed to snuggle with you.

4 feline house:

Your post was uncalled for. I love my cat and I spend special time with him. Just because he can't snuggle in bed with me doesn't mean that I can't get on the ground and snuggle with him. We also have special time when I take him outside to brush him. He loves it. In fact I can hold the brush and he will rub himself against it. I also take time to play with him. I have had him for over nine years and we have a great bond. I got him while I was in college and we have been through a lot together. At times he was all I had.

Since these chairs were recently purchased, I believe that he can be broken of the habit. I have broken him of other habits such as jumping on dressers and on the couch. He understands the word no, and I had misstated in the last post that he jumps on the chairs when we are home, when he in fact stays off the chairs even when we are sleeping. I simply need a deterrent for when we are not home.

He is well taken care of and has a beautiful house in which to live, plus plenty of comfy spaces on which to sleep (the carpeting is plush, warm and well padded). He has window sills on which to perch and glass doors in which to sun himself. I also have a husband who I love dearly and want to make his life as stress-free as possible. He does not have the same views as I on pets. That's fine. He accepts my cat because of how much I love Kitty. In turn, I can abide by his wishes of not allowing the cat on the furniture. Cats are incredibly smart creatures, and they know what they can get away with. Kitty is not being unduly punished or locked in a room when we are not home. His reprimands are: being squirted with water, being told no, clapping our hands (he hates loud noises) or some combination. Since he is not exhibiting this behavior when we are home, we can't catch him in the act. I figured the easiest way to deal with that is to keep him away from that area, period. So when he goes under the table or chairs he gets reprimanded. And it is working as he is avoiding that area of the house when we are home. This is from when he used to sleep under the table and chairs most of the time. He has since found a new lounging spot under my piano bench.

I have found some other advice and have placed aluminum foil on top of the chairs. He doesn't like the sound. Hopefully that will work. If not, I have a couple of other plans, plus any ideas that might be given here. He is not about to be thrown out onto the streets, as you fear. As much as I have made a commitment to raising and caring for Kitty, I have made a commitment to my husband and to my marriage. And part of that commitment is finding a solution that will make all of the parties happy.

[This message has been edited by missers (edited November 15, 2000).]

My large orange tabby that adopted me decided that he looked magnificent on the deep green table cloth on the dining room table. He did indeed, but I tried to be consistent. A firm NO accompanied with DOWN seemed to work. Not immediately, it took several weeks but he got the idea and lost interest in the dining room table. Have you also tried leaning the chairs against the table when you are away? It might not look great but would send the message you want kitty to receive? A friend who just adopted a new siamese kitten asked the breeder if she would never be able to have a real plant or Christmas tree in the house again. The breeder said she had forgotten who was in charge in the house. That made me laugh out loud. Isn't that the truth? Good luck, with perseverance you will be able to get the message to your kitty that this behaviour displeases you and
it will stop. You can tell that you love this cat very much - and I bet your husband in time will be won over. Cats have a way of doing that.

I have been trying to think of a suggestion for you, Missers...the idea that Gini had about leaning the chairs against the table, so that they don't have a flat surface to sit on is excellent. It would surely keep the cat off them, and you would not have to continue to always keep tin foil on them. Great idea, Gini.

Gini,

Great idea! That is much easier than putting the aluminum foil down, and I think that is a compromise my husband and cat can live with. I will try that tomorrow morning when I leave for work. Thank you.

One thing I have learned from posting on Pet Talk is that you can't take things personally. People are really trying to help. If we ask for help, we can't get upset with the response.
I have found that cats are going to do what they want to do and aren't as easily disciplined as dogs are. If you're going to have them, with claws intact, inside your home, somethings are going to be at risk.
I think the idea of leaning the chairs is perfect. I have found that each cat has its own preferences. Our Mimi doesn't care to climb on much of the furniture, but when she wants to, she's going to do it. Catching her is the hard part! I don't mind her sleeping on any of it as there are many remedies for cat hair, just not so many for curing the claw marks when she decides she needs to sharpen her claws. As soon as I say "NO", the dogs are all over her! They are my furniture guards.
Try catnip and other distractions. I have seen some great ideas in the www.marthastewart.com web site under "Keeping", "Pet Keeping". You can do a search and check out some of the ideas there.
Good luck. I'm sure things will work out.

Missers - I apologize for some of my harsh words. I know you love your cat and want the best for him, or you would not have taken the time to find a solution to your problem. However, I don't find anywhere in my post that I even intimated that you abused your cat. The thought never even entered my mind. I just can't imagine being a living creature with plush, comfortable objects all around and not being able to experience the pleasure of being able to use them. The kitty has no choice in all this, but the humans who seem to have conflicting desires do. But that certainly doesn't mean I thought you were abusing him. I'm truly sorry you took offense, offense was not intended, and I truly hope you can find a solution that makes the entire household happy.

Quote:

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Originally posted by missers:
I recently purchased dark purple dining room chairs, and my cat has decided to sleep on them. I used to allow him to get on furniture before I was married. I have since been able to break him of the habit to some degree. He still gets under the covers fo the bed when we are not home and he now jumps on the chairs when we are not home. He used to jump on our leather couch, but has since stopped that behavior without much correction. He does jump on the chairs when we are home, including while we are sleeping at night. So it seems that he knows this is wrong. I have started spraying him with water and yelling no when he goes near the dining room table and chairs. SO far this is not making a difference. My husband is pretty fed up with this, especially since he is not an animal person. Any suggestions? Thank you.

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Howdy...

I'm a newbie here...
This might help ya :
Both of my cats were introduced to product sold by many names..'Go Away'
'Stay Off'..etc..

It's a can of spray 'stuff' that cats dislike the smell of...It only take 1 to 2 weeks...you spray this stuff on chairs/tables...where ever you don't want puss to be and after a couple whiffs of this
stuff both my cats won't dare scratch or lay
where it was sprayed for a couple weeks..and
I see no evidence of staining from the spray.

Anyway ...it has ALWAYS worked for me..
Good Luck...
Charlie

My sister said that her veterinarian had a very expensive spray to use that would keep the cats off of things like plants, furniture, etc. Sorry, I can't remember the name, but it is an aerosol spray and she said it was $34 per can http://PetoftheDay.com/talk/eek.gif!!

Okay Here's what I did when my cats went all over my new sofa. I simply sprayed it with a light perfume so it didn't smell like
a cat. And since it didn't smell like a cat my cat didn't want to go near it. It also sneezed when ever it got near it so now it sticks with its old chair in its bedroom.=)
~caitlyn/bassethound08

The spray I mentioned in an earlier post was Feliway. My sister says it has worked wonders with her kittens. They stay out of the houseplants and don't scratch the furniture. It is well worth the expense to buy some. You have to get it from your vet and it comes in a small pumpstyle spray bottle. You might want to check into it.
Logan